Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee and have a nice long chat. This forum is the perfect place to get to know one another on a more personal basis. Share birthday or get well wishes, funny stories, jokes and interesting tidbits.

I'm currently on my 4th GP in about 16 months - the first 3 stopped practicing in southern New Mexico and went to other parts of the country (schools, overworked, lack of professional development opportunities, etc), and my current GP is so overloaded that I don't know how she does it. I'm seriously thinking about at least having an initial visit with another internist here in town who is in private practice (not part of a group practice), if only for the consistency of care.

After I was in a car wreck 2 years ago, I was required by my insurance to see a different neurologist. He claims to be a pain management specialist (among a half dozen specialties on his business card), but I'm more than a bit suspicious. He won't allow patients to schedule their own MRIs, and won't allow radiologists to read the MRIs that his office orders (from the MRI facility he is apparently part-owner of... fishy?). It took a full year of hounding him to get the letter the insurance company requested... in the mean-time, each time he read my MRI, he told me something different. My last visit, he prescribed 6 Vicoprofen tablets (750 mg Hydrocodone/200 mg Ibuprofen each) per day for pain, in addition to 1500 mg of neurontin, lidoderm and flector patches, Cymbalta, and Clonazepam! Because he's now technically my doctor, nobody else will touch my prescription for neurontin or Vicoprofen (both of which were previously prescribed by my other doctors).

Around the time my third GP left the area, I found out that we (finally!) had a pain management specialist in town, and she was apparently pretty good. (Previously, we only had doctors who came in from Albuquerque - 220 miles - and the doctor previously mentioned.) After waiting a month, and afte several days re-organizing my records and filling out forms, I was scheduled to see her today. When I rolled myself into the office for my appointment today, I was told that she had cancelled all appointments for the day and they were re-scheduling. The office staff verified my contact information (my cell phone) and told me they had called me (they hadn't).

I had been hoping so much for some relief today, and feel really disappointed. Thank you for letting me vent.

I hope she had a good reason to cancel. I had an appt cancelled on me because they said the doc was going to be at a conference. Not a very good attempt at making up a believable story. The Bay Hill Golf Tournament was being played that day. I changed docs and got a really good one. I don't think God wanted me to see that other jerk.

I hope you get some relief soon. Gentle hugs.

Mary

MaryGenetic CM/SM (me, my son, my twin sister and both of her daughters), RSD of right arm.

Karen,The receptionist laughed at you? That is horrible. I cannot understand that level of heartlessness especially from anyone that is in any way associated with the medical profession; even as a receptionist. I am so sorry.

Karen"People don't get what they deserve. They just get what they get, and there's nothing any of us can do about it." - House

I saw the pain management doctor yesterday, and am very pleased with her. Once you get past a couple of ding-bats in the front office, the practice seems to be really well run. It's actually the first true full-time pain management practice in town, and she's even heard of syringomyelia. Even more amazing, she and her husband decided to move to town because they want to retire here, but want at least 10-15 years to develop new friends and interests before doing so!

The hospital had been using MDs that came down from Albuquerque a couple times a month, and the self-proclaimed "Pain Management Consultant" is so slip-shod in his practice that I'm thinking of that I really want to report him to the state medical board. (When I went to his office and filled out a request for medical records - maybe a total of 10 visits over less than 2 years - I was told they would be ready in about 46 weeks!

She has now taken over prescribing responsibilities for the two medications that the above-mentioned "consultant" had last prescribed (Neurontin and Vicoprofen), since my regular doctors refuse to prescribe any medication that he prescribed at any time. (My NL will no longer even prescribe Neurontin, which I've taken for 9 years, because this "consultant" wrote a prescription for it!) She also evaluated the level of spasticity in my legs (hamstrings in particular), and is starting to work on identifying some treatments for which I'll be a good candidate.

Karen, I'm so glad you like her. I wonder if she knows her staff is treating people like that. If you have video capacity on your cell phone, quietly record your experience with them and show it to the doctor.

MaryGenetic CM/SM (me, my son, my twin sister and both of her daughters), RSD of right arm.